19

    To Sarah Savage Thatcher

    New York City        16 September 178[8]

    [p.m.]

    My dear

    Although I wrote you in the forenoon, I have come to a Resolution now to write you again; whether you can get time to read all the Letters I send you, or not, I dont know—but untill you tell me I write you too often, I shall continue to write so often and whenever I feel disposed for this kind of amusement1— I assure you ’tis my chief and greatest delight while I am seperated by a distance of near four hundred miles from my dear family—

    When I took my pen up I proposed to write you a political Letter altogether, without saying a word about family or any thing relating thereto—I thought, & still am of opinion, that you ought to have now and then, for novelty sake, a little something about Congress and Congressional matters—that when your female friends enquire of you the state of politics, you may, if you do not choose to enter upon the subject in conversation, hand them the Letter for them to read for themselves—

    Then to proceed—Before I got here in August the Congress had entered upon the business of puting the new Constitution into motion—By the plan of Government proposed by the Convention last fall, it was resolved that when nine states should have adopted the plan and transmitted their adoption to Congress—Congress should forthwith assigne a time for the States to appoint electors of a president—& the time for the electors to meet & give their votes for a president—and appoint a time and place when & where the Congress under the new Government should meet and commence operations—

    Accordingly, on Saturday the Congress resolved that the first wednesday in January be the day for choosing electors in the several States, and the first wednesday of February the day for the electors to meet and give in their votes for President, and the first wednesday in march the time for commencing operations under the New Constitution, at the City of New York—There has been much altercation in Congress about the place—whether it should be the City of N-York, or some place more southerly—and Philadelphia seemed generally advocated by those who opposed New-York—But notwithstanding the disputes upon this subject Congress at last unanimously agreed upon this City—There were nine States present—viz, New-Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersy, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South-Carolina & Georgia—The other states were not present—

    I suppose you, and your federal friends, are up in arms against North-Carolina for rejecting the Constitution2—But here your information is premature—They have not actually rejected the Constitution, neither are they any ways disposed to seperate themselves from the Union—But on the Contrary, their Convention passed two Resolves much to their honour—

    They resolved that it be recommended to their General Assembly to take the speediest measures, the situation of their Government, would admit, to redeem their paper money—And secondly—whereas that Convention had seen fit neither to adopt, nor actually reject the Constitution proposed to their consideration, and as ten States had adopted it, these adopting States would forthwith proceed to organize the Government, and it was highly probable the Congress would immediately lay an impost upon certain Goods imported into those States, therefore they Resolved that it be recommended to their General Assembly, that, as soon as Congress should Lay an impost on Goods, that State should lay a similar Impost on the same Goods imported into North-Carolina, & the same be appropriated to the use of Congress—Thus you see this State is federally disposed, tho they have not adopted the Constitution—They have simply recommended certain amendments to the consideration of a future Congress or Convention; which, or the principle of them, being ingrafted into the Constitution, they will then adopt the Government—I would continue this a little longer—but my paper is up—

    Yours. most affectionately

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    ALS, TFP